Michigan State redshirt sophomore Russell Byrd is working to get out of his sophomore shooting slump.Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

EAST LANSING -- Let the haters hate.

So says Michigan State redshirt sophomore guard Russell Byrd, a highly-recruited prospect from Fort Wayne, Ind., who has yet to live up to the hype that comes with being offered scholarships by such schools as Louisville, Indiana, Ohio State and Kentucky.

In fact, the 6-foot-7 Byrd is struggling just to get on the floor, not seeing any action in the Spartans' 75-70 loss at Indiana on Sunday.

When Byrd gets into the game, they will be the sort of minutes where he's expected to come off the bench, cold, and do what he was recruited to do, shoot the ball.

Many fans will groan, others in the student section will flap their arms and make bird noises — a tribute if Byrd were playing better, perhaps more mocking in nature considering he is not.

And Byrd will endure, looking to make a couple of shots with hopes it will snowball and his sophomore slump will finally be over and he can play like the sharpshooter coach Tom Izzo expected when he won the recruiting war.

"It's hard to sit on the bench for 26 minutes and come in and have to be sharp,'' said Byrd, who after being selected a team captain before the season has averaged just nine minutes a game (4.5 in Big Ten contests).

"But that's what it's all about; when you're in my spot, you've got to make it happen.''

Byrd's spot is a precarious one, so much so that rumors began to swirl that he might be contemplating transferring out of East Lansing.

"No…I'm gonna finish my career here,'' Byrd said. "Too many believe in me here and want me to be successful. I can take the criticism, and I can take the haters.

"What bothers me, why are you hiding behind a computer, man?''

Be it from laptop, I-Pad, or hand-held device, the critics have given Byrd an earful, via Twitter, over his 29.5-percent 3-point shooting and inability to contribute.

"One guy said he wanted to bury me at the bottom of the Red Cedar River,'' Byrd said. "That's laughable, you can't get caught up in stuff like that.''

At least, not when you've got a legendary coach like Izzo in your corner.

"He has been practicing so much better, he's been making shots, I think he deserves minutes,'' Izzo said at his Monday press conference, initiating the Byrd discussion. "I haven't given up on him, I really haven't.

"If he keeps practicing like he has been, he's earned the right to get some opportunities in the game. He has been so much better shooting the ball, it's been night and day.''

Byrd said the recent change in his game has been a result of not putting so much pressure on himself.

"I think I'd put too much pressure on myself and got into a funk,'' Byrd said. "Being a captain and starting off the season struggling, I couldn't speak up like I wanted to.

"When you've got a guy struggling with his own game, and coaches are frustrated about it, it's hard for that guy to speak up and lead.''

So Byrd did what he felt would be best for his team and old roommate, Keith Appling: he went to Izzo and suggested Appling be made a team captain, midseason.

"It was a couple of conversations,'' Byrd said. "Keith deserved it, he's been speaking up more trying to lead. I felt like it would give him some more confidence in his voice and his ability to lead.''

As it turned out, Izzo's move to make Appling a captain has also alleviated some of the pressure Byrd was putting on himself.

"I can figure my game out, figure my head out,'' Byrd said. "I'm not letting a bad day get me down, or a good day get me too high.''

As much as Byrd wants to get it done for himself and silence the critics, he wants to prove Izzo's patience and confidence in him has not been misguided.

"He's putting his neck on the line for me, I respect that big-time,'' Byrd said, "and I want to come through for him.''